New York: In emergency meeting of the UN Security Council New York on Sunday Secretary-General António Guterres has asked for restraint by all sides in Afghanistan. ”The capital city (Kabul) has seen a huge influx of internally displaced persons from provinces across the country where they felt insecure & fled during fighting. I remind all parties of their obligations to protect civilians,” said Guterres while addressing the meeting.
“I call on all parties to provide humanitarians with unimpeded access to timely & life-saving services & aid. I also urge all countries to be willing to accept refugees & refrain from any deportations,” Guterres added.
I urge all countries to receive Afghan refugees and refrain from any deportations.
"I call upon the Taliban and all parties to respect and protect international humanitarian law, rights, freedoms of all persons. We are receiving chilling reports of severe restrictions on human rights throughout the country. I am particularly concerned about the mounting human rights violations of women and girls of Afghanistan who fear a return to the darkest days. It is essential that the rights of Afghan women and girls are protected," Guterres said.
Echoing the possibility of severe rights abuses against Afghan women, Ghulam M Isaczai, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Afghanistan to UN said, ”I'm speaking on behalf of millions of people in Afghanistan. I'm speaking of millions of Afghan girls and women who're about to lose their freedom to go to school & to participate in political-economic & social life.”
"Taliban have already started house-to-house searches in some neighbourhoods registering names & looking for people in their target list," Isaczai said.
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US Ambassador to UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield said that over 500 tonnes of aid are at the border crossings which are taken over by the Taliban. "These aid deliveries must resume immediately," she said. "We're deeply concerned that aid is not flowing to people in crisis."
France said it will call for an 'immediate ceasefire' and urge the Taliban to respect international laws. "Women's rights must be respected. Perpetrators of abuse must be brought to justice. France stands shoulder to shoulder with Afghan people," a French envoy at the UNSC was quoted by media.
India which presided over the emergency meeting of the UNSC reiterated its policy of zero-tolerance for terrorism, urging the international community to take up measures to ensure Afghan territory "isn't used by terrorist groups to threaten or attack any other country."
"Then Afghanistan's neighbours and region would feel safer," India's Ambassador to UN, TS Tirumurti.
"As a neighbour of Afghanistan, as a friend of its people, the current situation prevailing in the country is of great concern to us in India. Afghan men, women, and children are living under a constant state of fear," Tirumurti said.
